Electric Receptacle Issue
My 2000 Four Winds Infinity has two electric receptacles mounted underneath the cabinets above the kitchen sink. The receptacles work only when they want to. It makes no difference if the coach is on battery power, generator, or shore power. All wires to the receptacles appear to be intact. All breaker wires are tight. The receptacles work one day, don’t work the next day, and then they start working again. What could be causing this?
Lee Szatkowski, F411078
Goldsboro, North Carolina
Since the outlets are close to the sink, I would suspect that the ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) might be the culprit. The GFCI is probably in a different location —maybe the bathroom — protecting all of its downstream outlets. Trying to test an intermittent GFCI can be frustrating. A GFCI receptacle is not very expensive, so I would just replace it and see whether the problem goes away.
Another alternative is to inspect all the outlets in that loop to determine whether the screws are tight, first making sure that the electricity is disconnected and the generator is not running. If the outlets are the type that you just push the wire into a little hole, I would replace them with the type that uses a screw for a more secure connection.
Freaky Fridge
Since 2012, the side-by-side Amana refrigerator in my 2005 Country Coach Magna has been making a thumping noise off and on, mostly on. Technicians have listened. Some say it’s probably the compressor, but they are not sure. Some want to replace the compressor but say it might be something else. Some say just let it die, and then replace it. Any thoughts?
Martin Johnson, F410813
Reno, Nevada
The compressor is the most likely source of the noise, but like the techs said, that is a guess. You also should make sure the rubber pads on the mounts are still in place. Road vibrations seem to have an effect on residential-style fridges. Since there is no practical way to identify the source, if this fridge were mine, I would wait until something failed and then have it fixed.
Plugged Toilet
We have had many problems with a plugged toilet in our 2002 Fleetwood Bounder 33R. Rather than drop straight down to the holding tank, the plumbing has a bend about 3 inches below the toilet. We need to use a plunger nearly every time we use it. Any suggestions?
Larry Erdmann, F401103
Maple Hill, North Carolina
Before using the toilet for solid waste, prefill the bowl with the water level almost to the top. You should use as much as water as you can without it slopping over. You might try a hand-operated plumbing auger; dried paper can harden, and water alone may not soften it up. If this doesn’t solve the problem, you may have to reroute the sewer line.